Pump



Patented Aug. 15, 1950 APPHEaticn-FebruaryZG, 19421; swarm. 730;952

(i'JClaims. (01/123-115) I This invention relate to improvements: in

pumpsand partieular-ly tothat: class: of pumps utilized to return condensate from: a condenser to the cooling system: of an internal combustion engine;

Heretofore-theadvantagesof vapor phase in cooling of internal combustion engineshave been recognized wherein: the: temperature of? the cooling water in thewater jackets of: the engine is: maintainedat substantially its: boiling point. In such t systems the water jackets or the engine are connected tea suitable water supply tank in the==top=of 1 which: there-is; normally a steam space for-steam" rising fromlthe heated'water: A condenser or. radiator is; usually: connected to this steam-space so that when-.theengine: is operating under heavy loads and" aeconsiderable amountof steam is being generated this steam-may be'conydensed in=the condenser or radiator and theeondensate returned to the-- coolingsystem; Here tofore, pumps of: various typeshave; beenrv used for.-returning-theeondensate from the condenser to: the cooling system; Generally; however,- these pumps have proven unsatisfactory: When the engine-is--oper-ating underlight loads little; if any; I

steam is passed into thecondenser and there are frequent-situations when there is: no condensate in the condenser; Consequently the" pump under such circumstances can receiveno condensate and operates dry: When the pump operates-in I this-portion to-expel condensateinto-"the cooling system of the engine. However; in experiments heretofore conductedvaporizing -chamber-- was merely alaterallextension-at the top of-' a well to whieh the condensatefrom= the condenser wa-s admitted. When the-condensate 'entered the fia-sh vaporizing-chamberat---thetop ofthe --w'ell"it wasquickly -converted' into steam and would expel the-condensate the well 1 up throughan" inclination tube immersed therein which led-f back to;-the cooling system offthe ine;

Suchv experiments have not proven" satisfae toryd-ue to-"the-faet-that suchpumpwouldiquick- 1y discontinue its'operation.

We have determined thauthe-reason-that+such experimental flash vaporization pumps have disoontinued-operation i's due to thefacii thatn'oncondensable gases are introd'ueed into-the water of the cooling system; These gases may enter the water past lealy'gaskets onmay slowly pass through the pores of the metal between the eyl"- inder Walls and the water jackets; Regardless of-howsuch 'noncond'ensable gases are introduced intothe Waterof the cooling system. onint'othe condensate in the condenser these gases: tend to collect in the top of'the-well and to fill=the flash. vaporizing chamber with the result: that the e'x perimental pumps quickly became gas locked with noncondensable" vapors and discontinued operation.

It is an object of the-present invention to provide an improvedpump wherein a flash var porization' chamber" is utilizedwhich receives condensate from the condenser when condensate is available and flash vaporizesaportion --of this condensate utilizing it as an expelling medium for expelling unvaporized condensate and? returning: it toatlie cooling system; IhsuOh aipump there are no .moving parts with-- the exception: of one -ormore anti-reverse flow check'valves and if the engine isoperatingunder such 1 conditions that there is--nox.condensate available in the conidenser no harm' to the pump is' -d@ne. The loss of primeof the pump; is immaterial for when there isareturn of eonditions and condensate is available ii? thecondenser this condensate on beingsupplied to the vaporization; chamber causes the purnpzto :resume normai operations-:1

More specifically, an 4 objeet 'ofthe invention is to providea pump having the above-mentioned eharacteristies wherein the-outlet-"is arranged 1 at substantially the highest point- 01*theVaporizer tion chamber so: that if noneondensabl'e 1 gases are admitted thereto these" gases will znot zco'lleetl and vapor lock thepump but-will-be carried. along with the-pumped condensate toultimately nnd-=egress-through theveritior these gases that; is located elsewhere in the system.

With the -'foregoi -ng and other objectsin view;. Which-Will be made manifest the following detailed description and specifically pointed-out in the appended claims; reference is l iad tothe: accompanying" drawing for anillustrative embodiment of the invention"; wherein:

Figure 1' 'isa diagrammatic View of an engine-4 employingvaporphase cooling and illustrat ing'the pump embodying'thepresentinventionas: havingbeen installedcooling systenr; and.

Fig; 2* is an enlarged Y sectional view through: the pump; and

Fi 3 is a view illustrating a simplified modification.

Referring to the accompanying drawing wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, ID indicates an internal combustion engine the cooling system of which has a. water supply tank II. An outlet from this tank indicated at I2 serves to conduct Water therefrom to the water jackets in any conventional or preferred manner and the inlet thereto indicated at I3 serves to return water from the water jackets to the tank. The upper portion of the tank I I may be regarded as having a steam space I4 which is connected as at I5 to the top of a radiator or condenser I6. The condensate .in the radiator or condenser collects in a tank H at the bottom thereof and it is desired to :return this condensate when available to the cooling system.

The pump embodying the present invention that is utilized to return the condensate to the cooling system or to the tank II consists of a :flash vaporizing chamber I8 that is preferably mounted or secured to the exhaust pipe IQ of the engine. This chamber is preferably tapered toward a closed end 28 and is so mounted on the exhaust pipe as to receive heat therefrom at its top. In other words heat from the exhaust pipe preferably passes downwardly through the top of the tapered flash vaporization chamber I8. A con-- lduit 2| that is preferably equipped with a check valve 22 leads from the tank I? and provides an inlet to the flash vaporization chamber that is disposed laterally with respect to the longitudinal :axis of the chamber. A conduit 23 which may or may not be provided with a check valve 2 1 provides the outlet from the chamber I8 that is :arranged opposite the closed end and axially with relation to the length of the chamber. The conduit 23 leads back to the cooling system and may enter it in the tank I I.

If the engine is operating under light loads the steam generated in the tank II may be so small that it will condense in the steam space I4 with- :out delivering any steam to the condenser i6. Under such circumstances there is no condensate available in the tank I'i' to be pumped and re turned to the system. Under these circumstances the chamber I8 is merely heated by the exhaust pipe I9 without any harm being done to it. However, when load conditions increase and steam is passed into the condenser I6 the condensate in the tank I! flows by gravity through the conduit 2i past the check valve 22 and enters the chamber I8. A portion of the water entering this chamber is quickly vaporized and the steam xthus quickly generated serves to expel the remain- .der of the water admitted to the chamber I8 and 'to force it past the check valve 24 through conduit :23 into tank I I. As soon as one charge of water :is thus expelled additional condensate from tank '1 may enter the chamber I8 and the operation repeated. The cycle of these operations usually takes place very fast but is somewhat dependent upon the temperature to which the chamber I8 is heated by the exhaust pipe I9. The cycles of operation may follow each other with such great rapidity that the discharge of water back into the tank I I may appear to be almost continuous.

It is preferable that the flash chamber taper toward the closed end 26 so that steam will more quickly be developed in this narrow closed end to expel the remainder of the charge of condensate that is admitted near the large end of the chamber.

If noncondensable vapors or gases are present in the condensate to be pumped these vapors or gases will not collect in the chamber I8 and thus vapor lock the pump inasmuch as the outlet 23 is located approximately even with the uppermost point of the chamber I8. Thus if these gases are taken into the chamber I8 they are quickly expelled therefrom by the steam alon with the returning condensate. Usually systems of this character have vents provided at suitable points such as for example at the top of the condenser l6 and these noncondensable gases may find egress from the system therethrough.

It will be appreciated that with this arrangement the noncondensable gases will not vapor lock the pump and that if the engine should return to low loadconditions wherein there is no condensate available in tank I! that the pump merely discontinues its operation and becomes heated by the exhaust pipe IS without damaging any of its parts. or I While the chamber I8 isshown as being sub stantially horizontal in position it may be slightly inclined with respect thereto. The closed end 20 may be slightly higher than the outlet 23 but if raised materially above the outlet the upper end of the chamber will ultimately collect noncondensable gases and the pump then becomes vapor locked. It is, therefore, preferable that the chamber be so arranged. as to avoid the possibility of collecting noncondensable vapors suchas in the horizontal position illustrated.

It will, of course, be appreciated that any other heating means may be used to heat the chamber I8 in lieu of the exhaust pipe 59. The exhaust pipe I9 is merely. utilized as it is readily available on the engine and has heat available that would otherwise normally be wasted.

While the pump is illustrated as having two check valves 22 and 24 a single check valve in many instances will sufiice and there-have been occasions whereboth check valves can be dispensed with. As the inlet to the chamber is disposed laterally the tendency of the expelled condensateto flow reversely through the inlet is normally quite small even though the check valve 22 is omitted. During the operation of the pump apparently a substantial part of the pump ing action is due to the kinetic energy in the water that is quickly accelerated through the outlet and there may be conditions wherein this water traveling through the outlet at a relatively high speed tends to draw and carry with it water that may be available in the inlet.

In the construction illustrated 'in' Fig. 3 there is merely a vertically disposed pipe or conduit indicated at 25 in which there are two spaced upwardly opening and downwardly closing check valves indicated at 28 and 2?. The conduit 25 may be subjected to anysuitable heat source between these check valves that is capable of quickly vaporizing the liquid in the conduit. Such heat source may be the exhaust pipe or the exhaust manifold from the engine. The check valves 28 and 21 may be so arranged that the hydrostatic head on the liquid will elevate some of it past the check valve 2'! where it then becomes quickly vaporized and the expansion of the steam forces the liquid to be suddenly expelled upwardly past the check valve 26. The suddenexpansion of the steam will force the liquid in the conduit above the check valve 26 upwardly so that there is sufilcient upward inertia to decrease the pressure in the conduit between the check valves. Consequently additional liquid may then ,enter the conduit space between the check valves past the check valve 27 and be suddenly vaporized and the cycle thus repeated. In this construction likewise due to the arrangement of the conduit noncondensable vapors will not collect between the check valves to cause the pump to discontinue operation. On the contrary these noncondensable gases will be carried upwardly along with the liquid and steam past the check valve 26.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the append claims.

We claim:

1. A pump comprising an approximately horizontally arranged flash chamber tapering toward the closed end thereof, means for admitting liquid to be pumped to said chamber, means for heating the chamber to flash vaporize the liquid admitted thereto, the outlet from the chamber being substantially as high as the chamber whereby noncondensable gases will not collect in the chamber to vapor lock the pump.

2. A pump comprising an approximately horizontally arranged flash chamber tapering toward the closed end thereof, means for admitting liquid to be pumped to said chamber, means for heating the chamber to flash vaporize the liquid admitted thereto, the outlet from the chamber being substantially as high as the chamber whereby noncondensable gases will not collect in the chamber to vapor lock the pump, the heating being applied to the top of the chamber.

3. A pump comprising an approximately horizontally arranged flash chamber tapering toward the closed end thereof, means for admitting liquid to be pumped to said chamber, means for heating the chamber to flash vaporize the liquid admitted thereto, the outlet from the chamber being substantially as high as the chamber whereby noncondensable gases will not collect in the chamber to vapor lock the pump, the inlet being arranged laterally with respect to the chamber and the outlet being arranged opposite the closed end thereof.

4. In a cooling system for internal combustion engines wherein there is a condenser adapted to receive steam from the system and condense it therein, means for returning the condensate to the cooling system comprising a flash vaporizing chamber, means for heating the chamber, said chamber having its outlet arranged substantially as high as the highest point of the chamber so that noncondensable vapors will not collect therein, means for admitting condensate from the condenser to said chamber, and means connecting the outlet with the cooling system for admission of the condensate thereto.

5. In a cooling system for internal combustion engines wherein there is a condenser adapted to receive steam from the system and condense it therein, means for returning the condensate to the cooling system comprising a flash Vaporizing chamber, means for heating the chamber, said chamber having its outlet arranged substantially as high as the highest point of the chamber so that noncondensable vapors will not collect there in, means for admitting condensate from the condenser to said chamber, and means connecting the outlet with the cooling system for admission of the condensate thereto, an anti-reverse flow check valve in the inlet and outlet to and from said chamber.

6. A pump comprising an approximately horizontally arranged elongated flash chamber having a closed end and an open end and being otherwise imperforate, means for admitting liquid to be pumped to said chamber through the open end thereof, and means for heating the chamber to flash vaporize the liquid admitted thereto, the outlet from the chamber being substantially as high as the chamber whereby noncondensable gases will not collect in the chamber to vapor lock the pump.

ROBERT R. HULL. HORACE E. COLES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 716,731 Maurer Dec. 23, 1902 1,119,433 King Dec. 1, 1914 1,153,798 King Sept. 14, 1915 1,311,528 Muir July 29, 1919 1,577,477 Mallor Mar. 23, 1926 1,658,934 Muir Feb. 14, 1928 1,712,464 Woolson May '7, 1929 1,812,899 Pope July '7, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 366,028 France of 1906 

